| dc.description.abstract | This study sought to establish the nature of strategic change experienced
in International NGOs working in Nairobi, Kenya and how they are
managing these changes.
A survey research design was used. This was considered appropriate
because it involved a cross-sectional study of International NGOs Nairobi.
The study involved a sample of 40 International NGOs based in Nairobi
from the target population of 132 International NGOs operating in Kenya.
Data was obtained through self-administered questionnaires and was later
analyzed for the computation of descriptive statistics. Out of the total
target number of 40 respondents, 31 responded giving a response rate of
77.5 %. This was considered a good response for analysis.
The study found that organizations experienced both fundamental and
incremental changes within a given span of time. The said changes bring
about conflicts and are sometimes met with resistance by the would-be
implementers. There is therefore the need to manage the change effort
effectively and efficiently for the success of the organization. The change
effort need to communicated well to all workers, the workers need to be
trained and equipped with the skills needed to implement and sustain the
change effort and the conflicts that may arise from the introduction of the
said change effort need to be solved amicably. In addition, the top
management need to manage or completely eliminate resistance to change
among the employees.
One of the main approaches of managing change has been cite as the one
of giving detailed information to the teams involved and affected by the change effort. Burnes and James (1995) brought in the theory of cognitive
dissonance in trying to understand the need to involve individuals in
organizational change. The theory states that people try to be consistent in
both their attitudes and behavior. When they sense an inconsistency, they
experience dissonance, they feel frustrated and uncomfortable with the
situation. Therefore individuals will seek a stable state where there is
minimum dissonance. From this theory, it can be seen that if an
organization embarks on change project that is out of step with the
attitudes of the concerned, it will be met with resistance unless those
concerned change their attitudes.
Besides the introduction of the change effort in the organization, change
agents should be keen in reinforcing it and ensuring that the change effort
is sustained. This involves the integration phase which commences once
the changes have been successfully implemented. It is concerned with
consolidating and establishing changes so that they become part of an
organization’s normal, everyday operation and do not require special
arrangements or encouragement to maintain them. The change processes
involved are reinforcing new behavior through feedback and reward
systems and gradually decreasing reliance on the consultant, diffusing the
successful aspects of the change process throughout the organization, and
training managers and employees to monitor the changes constantly and
seek to improve upon them. | en |
